


Whumptober 2019 - 29 - Numb

by OllieCollie



Series: Whumptober 2019 [29]
Category: Chicago Fire, Magnum P.I. (TV 2018)
Genre: Chicago, Gen, Squad 3 to the rescue, Trapped, Whump, freezing tempatures, mentions of other Magnum P.I. and Chicago Fire characters, numb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-13 00:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21234758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OllieCollie/pseuds/OllieCollie
Summary: The wind roared outside, and the whole building seemed to shake along with it. Before Rick had a chance to react, a splintering crack broke through the chilly air, and he barely had time to glance up before the roof collapsed.





	Whumptober 2019 - 29 - Numb

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DinerGuy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DinerGuy/gifts).

> I had a ton of fun writing this prompt. I've been thinking about a crossover like this ever since I found out Rick's hometown was Chicago. My two favorite characters from my two favorite shows? Yes, please! XD
> 
> Special thanks to truthtakestime for reading over this for me and helping me out with a few random questions, too. ;P You're the best!
> 
> *For DinerGuy, who loves these characters *almost* as much as I do. :P

It just figured that Rick would find himself in the middle of a...situation even without Thomas around to get him into trouble. For the first time, he wondered if it was him and not Magnum who had a knack for finding trouble. He decided it was both.

He really hadn’t wanted to take the trip back home to Chicago in the first place. Sure, he loved his family, but if he was being honest, Magnum and the others were more a of real family to him than his blood relatives. So he wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of spending a week of December in Chicago to celebrate the holidays with his mom’s extended family.

So far, however, things had been going surprisingly well. There had been no major arguments, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Some of Rick’s younger second cousins had taken great pleasure in ganging up on him and wrestling him to the ground—he’d let them win. The food was always a plus of these big family gatherings.

However, one unsuspecting evening, things went completely bonkers, and none of it had to do with his dysfunctional family or their Christmas celebrations.

Rick had been on his way back from a much-needed walk to clear his head and make a phone call to double-check that T.C. was faring okay without him to help at the club. He’d been reassured that everything was just fine—minus Thomas trying to dump all of his favors on T.C. without Rick to lighten the load. He’d laughed at that—there was one thing about Hawaii that he didn’t miss.

The sun was just setting—bringing with it a chill that had Rick shivering as he tugged the hood of his coat over his head. Snow was beginning to fall again—not to mention the wind was picking up—and he knew he’d better get home quickly.

His sensitive ears picked up the sound of a muffled yell, and he paused to glance around. An old, seemingly-abandoned building sat to his left, and Rick frowned when the shout came again. Was someone calling for help?

He ducked into the building. It clearly hadn’t been used for some time, and he wouldn’t be surprised if squatters used it regularly to take shelter from the winter storms.

“H—help!” the voice was young, younger than Rick would have expected from a homeless tramp. He navigated around the various barrels and debris scattered around on the ground. 

A rickety staircase led up to the second floor, where the shout had originated. Rick hurried up the stairs—albeit cautiously—and peered through the dim light.

Across the room, what had probably once been a stack of crates now lay in a scattered mess. A tiny, tear-stained face twisted around as he approached. The little girl’s left foot was pinned underneath one of the heavy crates. 

Rick immediately rushed to her side. “Hey, honey, it’s okay,” he soothed. 

She whimpered, her gaze pleading. “My foot’s stuck,” she croaked, her gloved hand moving sluggishly to motion toward the trapped limb.

He nodded, moving closer in order to get a better look. “What’s your name?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

She sniffled, her arms coming around to hug herself. “S—Sara.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Sara. I’m Rick,” he said with a smile. “Can you tell me if your leg hurts?”

She nodded. “I—it did at first. I can’t feel it as much now.” Her lower lip trembled.

“Hey, it’s all right. I’m just gonna see if I can lift this off of you, okay?” Rick crouched next to the crate and tried to lift it. It barely budged. Whatever was in the crates, it was heavy. There was no way Rick was lifting it on his own. His eyes darted around the room, searching for something he could use for leverage. His gaze caught on a narrow metal pole lying a few feet away. “Let’s see if we can use this,” he said, calmly narrating his actions for the injured girl’s sake. He stepped over to the pole. “Maybe—”

The wind roared outside, and the whole building seemed to shake along with it. Before Rick had a chance to react, a splintering crack broke through the chilly air, and he barely had time to glance up before the roof collapsed.

* * *

A scared, small voice broke through his spinning thoughts. “Mr. Rick? Mr. Rick!”

Rick moaned and blinked. Had he blacked out? “Wh—what—?” He broke off into a coughing fit, which in turn caused a sudden, stabbing pain to shoot up his chest. He gasped.

The dark-haired girl—Sara—was staring at him, her eyes wide in fear and pain. “Part of the roof...it j—just caved in,” she told him, her voice trembling slightly.

Rick was having a hard time catching his breath. He forced his eyes open all the way, and that’s when he realized how much of a predicament he’d just gotten into. A large support beam that had once been upright had fallen along with a chunk of roof from above—Rick could only guess it was due to the fact that building had seen better days. The snow that had been piling on top of the roof was what must have caused the cave-in. His lower body was firmly caught underneath the debris.

Well, this was not good.

“I’m sorry,” the little girl choked out. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just playing around, I—I—”

“Shh, it’s all right.” Rick grunted. He attempted to shift, to see if there was any way he could slide himself out from under the debris, but to no avail. Especially with the way the beam had fallen, there was no way he was freeing himself.

He forced himself to steady his breathing as best he could. Passing out now wouldn’t be helpful to anyone.

“Are you okay?” Sara asked him, her voice still full of tears.

“Yeah...yeah. I’ll be fine,” he told her with a reassuring smile that he really didn’t feel. They needed help, and soon.

His phone. Rick slowly shifted a hand downward, slipping it down to his pocket and struggling even to just pull the device out. 

_ Crap…  _ It was no use. The screen was shattered, and even the back had managed to sustain some major cracks. He pressed the power button, but the screen stayed black.  _ Great. _

“Sara...you’re gonna h—have to call for...help again,” he gasped out between short breaths. He knew there was no way he was drawing in a deep enough breath to yell. He could barely speak as it was.

She nodded determinedly. “Help! Somebody, up here!” she hollered.

Ten minutes later, she fell back in dismay, her voice hoarse. “Nobody ever passes this way,” she said in dismay. Her gaze drifted to the hole in the roof. “Especially once it gets late.”

Rick squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed past the bout of nausea that threatened. “Your...parents...they know where you are?”

She bit her lip. “I...I’m not supposed to go this far. But I saw a kitty, and I followed him because I thought he might be cold.” She glanced around the room. “I climbed on the boxes after him, b—but they weren’t stacked very well. They fell, and that’s how my foot got stuck.” Her eyes landed on her trapped leg again, and Rick saw the way her breath suddenly hitched.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” he said, drawing her attention to him. “It’s gonna be okay.” He wasn’t exactly sure how—the temperature had dropped significantly already. His fingers were going numb, and he could barely feel his legs—although whether that was due to injury or cold, he wasn’t quite sure. “I’m sure your...mom and dad are out looking for you by now. We just gotta—hold out…’til they find us.” Who knew how long it would be before someone passed by, though.

She nodded, wiping a hand across her tear-stained cheeks and shivering. “It’s so cold,” she whispered.

Rick nodded sympathetically, holding back another pain-filled grunt. He needed a way to keep the girl’s mind off their situation. He forced his mouth to move. “So, Sara...tell me something about yourself.”

“I’m eight—and a half,” she said. She paused in thought for a moment. “My family just moved here.”

“Oh yeah?” Rick tilted his head in her direction, his cheek brushing against the dirty floor. “I live in Hawaii.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really? I always wanted to go there.” Her brow suddenly furrowed, and she let out a pain-filled whimper. “Ouch—my leg...it really hurts, Mr. Rick.”

“I know, kiddo.” He was speaking from experience—current experience, actually. He bit his lip. The poor girl was trembling, whether from fear, cold, shock, Rick wasn’t sure. Probably a mixture of all three.

He sucked in a deep breath before moving a hand to unzip his winter coat. It took more work than necessary, but he was able to maneuver himself out of the outerwear. “H—here.” He tossed the coat to Sara. “Put that on.”

Even through the dim light cast through a window by a nearby streetlight, he saw the way her blue eyes widened. “But Mr. Rick, you’ll be cold!”

He shook his head. “You n—need it. Go on, I’ll be okay.” He was thankful he had layered up before heading out, but he could already feel the freezing air permeating through his body without the added warmth of his coat.

She didn’t seem convinced, but did as he instructed and tugging it around her shivering form. 

Rick asked Sara a few more questions, trying to keep both of them occupied. They both listened for the sound of passing cars or people. There was no way of getting free—he’d exhausted himself trying. And while the effort had been good for maintaining his body temperature, he couldn’t find the strength to continue. His shivering was slowly coming to a stop, and while something was telling that it  _ wasn’t  _ a good thing, he couldn’t bring himself to care. Everything was numb—which was better than the pain.  _ Wait…  _ No, it wasn’t. He  _ should  _ be feeling pain and cold, not…warmer.

He tried to focus on Sara’s words, to keep himself coherent, but it was growing harder by the minute.

Maybe if he just closed his eyes for a few seconds…

* * *

The sound of sirens vaguely registered in Rick’s groggy mind. He wasn’t sure how long he and Sara had been trapped or how long it had been since he’d drifted off, but he berated himself for it nonetheless.  _ You idiot, never go to sleep when it’s this cold! _

“They...they’re here,” Sara murmured, relieved. She looked about as exhausted as Rick felt. Her eyelids were drooping as she huddled in Rick’s giant coat.

Rick might have closed his own eyes again for just a second, because the next thing he knew, there were firefighters bustling around the building, calling to each other and to him. 

“Hey, man, can you hear me?” An oddly familiar voice broke in next to him. He forced his eyes open a crack. Light now lit the room, a result of the flashlights the first responders had brought up with them. The face leaning over him was one he’d seen before…

“Severide!” someone called from nearby. A question followed, but Rick didn’t quite catch it.

“Sev...Severide? Kelly Severide?” he croaked out, his brow furrowing as he finally placed the face.

The firefighter above him did a double take. “Rick…?”

He nodded and coughed. “Long time…no s—see, brother.” When was the last time they’d talked, anyway?

“You know, there are better ways to tell me you’re in town,” Kelly quipped, turning over his shoulder to call out an order to somebody. 

Rick grunted, forcing himself to stay awake a  _ little  _ longer. He wanted to make a sarcastic retort, maybe something to do with one of his and Kelly’s old high school escapades, but he couldn’t find the energy. “The girl…”

“She’ll be all right,” Kelly reassured. “Someone passing by heard her yelling for help and called us.” He glanced over his shoulder again. “We got her out. Now it’s your turn.”

Somehow, amidst his conversation with his old buddy, the firemen had been working hard to move the beam and bits of ceiling that had Rick pinned. They quickly loaded him onto a backboard and had him rolling out to the ambulance in no time.

A million thoughts were running through Rick’s mind: what his family was going to say about this, what Thomas and the others  _ back home  _ were going to say, whether or not Kelly was going to make fun of him for the rest of his life about having to come to his rescue, and how he needed to go visit Sara as soon as the hospital let him get out of bed.

The swirl of thoughts were too much, though, and he decided he could worry about them later. He felt his eyes drooping closed as the paramedics loaded him up in the ambulance, and slowly drifted off to sleep.


End file.
